Northumberland Theatre Company and Alnwick Playhouse host the 5th Pride of Place Rural Touring Theatre Festival.

Audiences will be able to see the work of more than 10 of the best national and International theatre companies working in rural communities, involving music, mask and puppets as well as traditional theatre.

Held over a long weekend, there will be something for everyone.

Related features:
- What's on (Thursday, April 3 until Thursday, April 10)
- A guide to attractions in north Northumberland

Tickets: One show £7.50, £6.50 conc. Three shows: £16, £14 conc. Five shows £25, £22 conc. Day Delegate: £35. Full Delegate/entrance to all shows, events and workshops over four days £100. Festival brochures are available from the Box Office or downloaded at www.prideofplace.org.uk

SHOWS

Thursday, April 3: Hard Hearted Hannah & Other Stories, Playhouse. Part-gig, part-juke-box, part-theatre but entirely a voyage of discovery. Every performance of this improvised show will be unique. 7.30pm. For all ages. 90mins.

Thursday, April 3 and Friday, April 4: Neighbours – The Galilee Multicultural Theatre, Playhouse studio. Wassim Bishara, an Arab musician, and Pablo Ariel, a Jewish actor talk, play, and tell each other stories in different languages – without words. Recommended age: 16yrs+. 60mins. No interval. Thursday, 9.15pm. Friday, 11am.

Friday, April 4 and Saturday, April 5: The Last Resort. A satire about greed, ambition and redemption. Lindisfarne Annexe. Tomorrow: 5pm & post performance discussion. Saturday: 9.30am Mask Workshop. Performance 11am. Recommended age: 11yrs+. 2 hours plus post performance discussion.

Friday, April 4 and Saturday, April 5: Open Circle - Lithuania: Young people, sitting in a circle among the audience, tell true stories from their childhood. Recommended age: 13yrs+. 80mins. No interval. Friday: Lindisfarne Annexe. 10.30am. Saturday: The Studio, Alnwick Playhouse. 4.30pm.

Saturday, April 5: The Legend of Lola Montez, Town Hall. True story of one of the most ambitious and wayward women of the 19th century. Recommended age 13yrs+. 2 hours 15mins. 11.30am & 6pm.

Saturday, April 5: Stars in the Sky Morning – Theatre Newfoundland, Playhouse. A play about the lives of young girls who grow up, fall in love, marry and raise children in pre-and post-confederation Newfoundland. 75mins. No interval. 2pm & 7pm.

Saturday, April 5: Cuckoo Teapot. A pair of star-crossed lovers...with mothers to match. Northumberland Hall. Recommended age: 12yrs+. 2 hours, plus interval. 2.30pm & 8pm.

Friday, April 4 and Saturday, April 5: Johnny's Midnight Goggles – SharpWire, Playhouse studio. A one-man operatic thriller.Recommended age: 12yrs+. 60mins. No interval. Tomorrow, 3.30pm. Saturday, 7pm.

Friday, April 4 and Saturday, April 5: The Idiot Colony – Redcape Theatre, Playhouse. A fictionalised account of the fate of many young British women in post-war Britain. Recommended age: 14yrs+. 75mins. No interval. Tomorrow, 8.45pm. Saturday 10.30am. In the Playhouse studio.

Saturday, April 5: Gin & Tonic & Passing Trains. A visual comic tale of one man who has too much time on his hands. Recommended age: 7yrs+ and families. 1 hour. No interval. Town/Market Hall. 3pm & 7.30pm.

Saturday, April 5: Odyssey. An imaginative story of an epic journey home after a terrible war across the seas. Northumberland Hall. Recommended age: 8yrs+. 50mins. No interval. 3pm & 4.30pm.

Saturday, April 5: Wedding Story. A play with music for young children and their families. Northumberland Hall. Recommended age: 5–8yrs. 55mins. No interval. 10am & noon.

Saturday, April 5: The Elephant Man. A moving, poetic and uplifting play of the life of John Merrick. Recommended age: 12yrs+. 85mins. No interval. Lindisfarne Annexe. 6pm & 8.30pm.

Saturday, April 5: Ain't Misbehavin' – OTTC, Playhouse. Join the crowd who strut their stuff at Harlem's famous Cotton Club for an evening of singing, swinging and smiles. For family audience. 2hrs. 2.30pm & 8pm.


EVENTS/WORKSHOPS:

Thursday, April 3: Town crier, traditional music, street entertainment and hog roast followed by procession to the Alnwick Playhouse. Alnwick Market Square. 6pm.

Thursday, April 3: The Baghdaddies. An anarchic melange of traditional European and world musical styles of all eras that never fails to have audiences jumping around. White Swan Hotel. 10.30pm. Tickets £5.

Friday, April 4: Cultural Provocations – John E McGrath. Lively Audiences – talk. Bailiffgate Museum. 10am. 40mins.

Friday, April 4: Cultural provocations. Speaker, Simon Fitch. Bailiffgate Museum. 10.30am.

Friday, April 4 and Saturday, April 5: Lunchtime discussions: For stage managers, administration and finance people. See notice board at Alnwick Playhouse for further info.

Friday, April 4: Cultural Provocations – John Fox. Occasional Remedies, talk. Look backwards and forwards to successful prototypes of necessary theatre. The Studio, Alnwick Playhouse. 1.15pm. 40mins.

Friday, April 4: Theatre Games – Rob Hitchmough, Playhouse. Participatory sessions of impro and comedy with Rob Hitchmough. Rob has been performing on The National Comedy Circuit for over 20 years. 4pm–6pm (13+ yrs), 10pm (adults only). Tickets: £5 per session.

Friday, April 4 and Saturday, April 5: We Walk the Walk! You Talk the Talk. Debate. Tomorrow: 10pm, The Studio, Alnwick Playhouse. Saturday: 1.30pm & 10pm, at Bailiffgate Museum.

Saturday, April 5: Northumbrian produce, market and entertainment. Alnwick Market Square. Daytime. Free.

Saturday, April 5: Strangeface Mask Workshop. One-hour mask workshop – suitable for all ages. Lindisfarne Annexe. 9.30am followed by The Last Resort show (see left). Tickets £5

Saturday, April 5: Cultural Provocations – Nicholas Keyworth, talk. At the Bailliffgate Museum. 10am.

Saturday, April 5: Ceilidh, 10.30pm. Tickets: £5, to be bought in advance. Playhouse studio.

Sunday, April 6: Open Space Style Conference. A chance to ask the questions and raise the issues which are concerning you about theatre, rural arts and the state of the nation. The Studio, Alnwick Playhouse. 10am–1pm.

Sunday, April 6: Practical Lighting Workshop. For technicians and designers, with lighting designer Ben Omerod. At Alnwick Playhouse. 10am–1pm. Tickets £5.

Sunday, April 6: Practical Workshop for Actors. Workshop leader tbc, Alnwick Playhouse. 11am–1pm. £5.

Sunday, April 6: Plenary. Next festival? Even Further Upstix, or Down Stix?! In The studio, Alnwick Playhouse. 1pm.